By TIMOTHY LAROCHE
[email protected]
CLAREMONT — City councilors unanimously adopted a resolution this week to create a fund for the clean-up of blighted properties.
The adoption of the non-capital reserve fund for code enforcement culminates more than a month of deliberation on the resolution. Its passage means that the city will be able to use money from the sale of properties taken by tax deed to fund demolition, clean-up, and other rehabilitative efforts at other city-owned properties, with the ultimate goal of putting those properties back on the market.
“We recognized the need as it was put forward by the city manager and staff that there are some areas of the community that desperately need some work done,” Asst. Mayor Allen Damren said. “There are areas of blight, and there are costs associated with enforcing the building codes and so forth.”
The fund came before the council initially during their Feb. 15 meeting, but it was redirected to the finance committee for adjustments after it drew criticism for unspecific wording. At a meeting on Feb. 21, committee members requested more information about the sale of city properties before the resolution could move forward.
The revised wording of the resolution specifies that the fund will be replenished from the sale of properties taken through tax deed – a tool that the city can use when homeowners neglect to pay taxes for several years. However, revenue from the sale of tax deeded properties in excess of the amount owed to the city in back taxes is returned to the property owner. Although sales also happen infrequently, finance committee members opted to cap the fund to ensure that it doesn’t grow beyond a usable amount.
“Members of the finance committee did not want this to be a fund that would be an ever-growing type of fund,” Damren said. “We wanted to place that limit on the top of it.”
Since March 2014, the city has taken in $325,056 from sale of 17 tax-deeded properties. With $505,779 owed to the city in taxes on the properties, the sales recouped almost 65 percent of the back taxes owed.
About 25 percent of the revenue from the properties came from the sale of 54 Windsor Road for $82,000.
After significant deliberation through the finance committee, the resolution did not go to the policy committee for input, but councilors approved a few last-minute tweaks to wording of the resolution during Wednesday council meeting.
“We spent quite a bit of time on this,” Mayor Charlene Lovett said.
Follow Timothy LaRoche on Facebook at Eagle Times – Timothy LaRoche, or on Twitter at @TimothyLaRoche.
As your daily newspaper, we are committed to providing you with important local news coverage for Sullivan County and the surrounding areas.